The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may not constitute prior art.
Motorized vehicles may include a powerplant (e.g., an engine, an electric motor and/or a combination thereof) that produces drive torque that is transmitted through a transmission, such as an automatic transmission, to wheels of the vehicle. The drive torque is transmitted through one of various gear ratios of the transmission to achieve a desired axle torque.
Operation of the powerplant and transmission are commonly regulated by one or more control modules to achieve the desired axle torque. For example, an engine control module may be used to regulate a throttle that controls the air entering the engine. Additionally, a transmission control module may be used to select the gear ratio. Automatic transmissions may shift automatically based on various vehicle operating conditions, such as vehicle speed, drive torque, and throttle position.
Typically, a desired transmission operating range may be selected by the vehicle operator using a driver interface device, such as a gear selector mechanism. The ranges provided by most automatic transmissions may generally include PARK, REVERSE, NEUTRAL, and DRIVE. In DRIVE, the automatic transmission may be regulated to shift between different forward gear ratios based on the vehicle speed drive torque, and throttle position.
Additionally, the desired axle torque may be selected by the vehicle operator using another driver interface device, such as an accelerator pedal. Based on the desired transmission operating range and desired axle torque selected by the vehicle operator, a desired gear ratio may be determined. The desired gear ratio may be determined via table lookup of throttle position versus vehicle speed in a base shift pattern calibration table for the current gear ratio. The base shift pattern calibration tables for each of the forward gear ratios may be calibrated to achieve overall vehicle performance, fuel economy, and driveability objectives.